Spark social enterprise competition winners to share £640,000 funding

The 15 winners of the Spark social enterprise competition are to share a combined prize fund of £640,000, it was announced today.

From willow eco-coffins produced in Cambridge to inspiring catering and hospitality under the guidance of executive London chef Simon Boyle, the winning Spark social enterprises have won amounts between £89,000 and £5,000, and showcase the best business ideas and talent currently tackling homelessness in the UK.

Housing Minister Ian Austin said: “Providing a route into training is a major way of helping break the cycle of unemployment and homelessness, and much of the success in recent years in reducing homelessness has been down to this.

“The Spark social enterprises programme has already played a major role in reducing homelessness by giving another chance to many people who have spent time on the streets.  I’m very confident this second phase of the programme, which is supported by £2.5m Government funding (over two years), will keep on helping homeless people, and I congratulate all the successful schemes.”

The 15 winners were selected from 140 entrants in the £1.6 million Spark challenge, which aims to champion organisations that make a profit to tackle and prevent homelessness, following in the footsteps of other well-known social enterprises such as The Big Issue and Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen.

Since being selected in March 2009, they have each had to prepare their business case and pitch to a high profile panel of private, public and third sector leaders. As well as allocating the prize money, the panel also set each winner a challenge.

These challenges ensure the enterprises stay focused on winning new business and meeting their social aims, whilst working alongside an expert team from one of the corporate partners: BT, Places for People and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Together, the enterprise and corporate team will take a combined commercial and social approach to maximize the impact of the Spark investment and their journey will be celebrated at an event on November 25th 2009, held at the BT tower.

This year also sees a new generation of homeless entrepreneurs, as 7 individuals who have directly or recently experienced homelessness come on board to receive personal and business support and see the realisation of their truly creative business ideas.

SPARKLERS is a new £50,000 pilot programme that offers support for the person, their business and their business growth; and with MP3 audio tours told from the street, juices and healthy foods to revitalise the socially disadvantaged and music to spin talented buskers out into festivals, the next 6 months should see the development of some of the most exciting new businesses tackling homelessness from where it’s at.

Here is a list of the winners and the funding they are to receive:

ASPIRE OXFORD, Oxfordshire: £80,000
SPARK FABRICATIONS & FRAMING, Southampton: £60,000
HOUSE OF ST BARNABAS-SOHO, Central London: £30,000
WINTER WILLOW, Cambridge: £65,000
MERSEY STRIDE, Liverpool: £50,000
MATT 25- ADULLAM HOUSING, Birmingham: £5,000
BIKE IT- YOUR HOMES NEWCASTLE, Newcastle: £5,000
REFURNISH DEVON, Devon: £20,000
BEYOND BOYLE FOUNDATION, Central London: £60,000
ECO CENTRAL LANDSCAPES,    East London: £50,000
BLUE SKY, Newcastle: £40,000
FIRST FRUIT, East London: £89,000
WIGAN HOUSING SOLUTIONS, Wigan: £34,000
PAINT IT- FRAMEWORK HA, Nottingham: £25,000
RESETTLEMENT AGENCY, Devon: £5,000